The Little League baseball field in Southampton is a little ragged, dotted white with clovers like snow flakes on the uneven infield grass. The mound extends toward the plate shaped like a keyhole — a worn-down dirt patch from years of feet propelling themselves forward with the force of a pitch.

Fewer teams play now. Southampton used to field four teams, but in recent years the numbers have dwindled as other sports begin to take up much of the summer. Two years ago, Southampton had two teams , but now it’s just one — the Southampton Little League All-Stars, who double as the only regular season squad. As the talent pool has evaporated over the years, only the players who choose baseball as a primary sport remain. As a result, Southampton sometimes finds itself overmatched by larger schools with more players to choose from.

There are other challenges as well.

“A lot of kids are doing this crap,” Southampton assistant coach Brian Kelly said, twiddling his thumbs on an imaginary video game controller. “Xbox. The bane of all parents.”

Across the board

Five years ago, Agawam had roughly 1,000 kids playing baseball in the summer, with the ages ranging from 4 to 16. This year, there were 600 players spread across roughly 45 teams — a respectable number, but a significant drop.

Agawam Little League president Dave DeMatteo has been involved with Little League for 12 years. He has noticed a decline in interest in baseball.

“The numbers are good, but they’re not as great as they used to be,” he said. “Lacrosse has become a more popular sport now. The die-hard kids still play baseball, of course, but a lot of kids would rather hit other kids with sticks.”

DeMatteo added that he doesn’t begrudge the kids who play lacrosse.

“It’s mostly lacrosse in Agawam,” he said. “From my vantage point, I’d rather have the kids play something, play any sport.”

Travel teams have also proven to be a challenge for Little League. Three teams from Agawam now play in the Sullivan League, where the games are spaced further and further apart. Longmeadow Little League president Steve Schiffman said he doesn’t see the attraction in playing farther from home.

“There’s nothing better than going to school the next day and razzing your friends about the game the day before,” Schiffman said. “I don’t think you can do that playing kids from 60 miles away.”

Longmeadow saw an upward trend in Little League participation this year, fielding 30 teams for nearly 400 kids. Schiffman said numbers slumped to 350 over the past couple of years.

“Parents think travel teams have better baseball, but some people are finding out that’s not the case,” Schiffman said.

Longmeadow’s success in the postseason has also generated interest. The Longmeadow All-Stars 9- and 10-year-old Little League squad — one of the better success stories in Western Mass. — has advanced to the state finals.

“It’s the first time in our history we’ve ever done that,” Schiffman said. “There’s a tremendous buzz around the community. We’ve already had inquiries about tryouts for next year from all the publicity.”

Changes

One of the reasons players defect to travel teams in the summer is simple: Travel teams have bigger diamonds.

“We have to go to a bigger diamond for 12-year-olds,” DeMatteo said. “They are just getting too big and too strong to play in these diamonds. You see these kids, you can’t lead, you can’t get a proper stretch. We’ve been talking about that among the presidents. That’ll be the future of the league."

Losing players to travel teams hasn’t necessarily brought the quality of Little League play down. DeMatteo noted that getting more reps allows average players to become better.

“When some of the better kids leave, intermediate kids improve,” he said. “Kids at the bottom who never would have gotten a chance now get more at-bats, more positions. The quality of play is top-notch.”

Losing

Playing against one of Westfield’s All-Star teams — the Nationals — on June 30, Southampton faced Ethan Flaherty. Flaherty, a skinny kid with a blazing fastball, is one of three pitchers Westfield used this season.

Flaherty nearly no-hit Southampton. Southampton’s batters couldn’t catch up to his fastball save for one single in the top of the fourth, and by the time the bottom of the fourth rolled around, Westfield National had put up 10 runs, ending the game.

Schiffman, however, would contend that simply by participating, Southampton had already won.

“We are offering sportsmanship, not just coaching them but giving the kids life lessons,” he said. “One of the most rewarding things I’ve had is meeting a kid I coached eight years ago. They look different, so I barely recognize them, but they say ‘Hey coach, I’m at this university, this is what I’m doing with my life.’ I think coaches have a great influence on kids as they grow up. That’s a great thing.”